Breaking The Habit
by Callisto Dementia
Summary: I hardly ever write fanfic, but here's one I'm almost proud of. IYYYH crossover in that Kurama is in the IY universe(long story short, a friend of mine put him there & I wrote this story for her). Sesshoumaru finally gets his shot at Inu-Yasha... NOTE: Ya


BREAKING THE HABIT  
  
WARNINGS:  
  
YAOI (implied S/K)  
  
Callisto sez: Inu-Yasha fanfic, with a slight crossover to YYH in that Youko Kurama is hanging around as Sesshoumaru's partner. (Yes, take that in every possible sense.) Using this fic to play out how I think Sesshoumaru  
might react if he finally got his chance to kill Inu-Yasha.  
  
Title inspired by Linkin Park's Breaking The Habit.  
  
(This is some time after the events of the series, so Inu-Yasha's  
companions are all dead &/or gone, as are Sesshoumaru's.)  
  
Kurama reflected that, in the end, it must have seemed rather anticlimatic to Sesshoumaru. They had moved up on Inu-Yasha so quickly & quietly that he had barely had time to see them coming; in mere moments, Sesshoumaru had slipped the Tetsusaiga out of the sheath Inu-Yasha carried, & from that moment all three of the demons had known the fight was essentially over. Of course, it had taken a good five or six minutes longer for Sesshoumaru to get to this point, a foot on Inu-Yasha's chest pinning him to the ground, but there had simply been no other possible outcome.  
  
After so much time & determination on Sesshoumaru's part, the sudden victory & Inu-Yasha's swiftly approaching death must have seemed almost annoyingly simple.  
  
Now Sesshoumaru had the point of the Tetsusaiga against Inu-Yasha's exposed throat; Inu-Yasha was glaring up at him, teeth bared. Defiant to the end; not that this surprised Kurama. From what he'd seen of the bloodline, this family tended to be stubborn beyond reason.  
  
It was a shame, he thought with slight regret, that Sesshoumaru felt it so important that he kill Inu-Yasha. From what he'd seen of the half-demon, Inu-Yasha wasn't so different from Shuichi. But it seemed Sesshoumaru wouldn't be satisfied until his brother's body was laid out before him.  
  
And there was the promise he'd made Kurama...  
  
"You wouldn't want me to obsess over you the way I do Inu-Yasha."  
  
"Wouldn't I?"  
  
"Would you...?"  
  
"Would I like to be the thought that remains in your mind for centuries? The being that your life seems to work around? The shadowy goal that you constantly strive for? Need you ask?"  
  
"The only reason I obsess over Inu-Yasha, little kitsune, is because he is not dead yet."  
  
"So?"  
  
"You would want me to wish you dead?"  
  
"If it means that I will always be in your thoughts, perhaps."  
  
"How do you know you aren't always in my thoughts?"  
  
"Not in all your thoughts. Otherwise you wouldn't be so focused on your brother."  
  
"Once he is dead, I will be happy to think about you in exclusion to everything else, little kitsune."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"I swear it. Once he is dead."  
  
He had waited nearly a year for this, Kurama reminded himself as he watched Sesshoumaru pull the sword back slightly, preparing for the killing thrust. A year of tracking, following, of always being a step behind; Inu-Yasha had become quite good at avoiding his brother over the years, it seemed. But his luck had run out today...  
  
After several moments, Kurama realized that Sesshoumaru had not moved. The Tetsusaiga remained poised, but it did not strike. The expression on Sesshoumaru's face never wavered, but he did not strike either.  
  
Kurama frowned. What is he waiting for? From the somewhat perplexed (but still angry) expression on Inu-Yasha's face, the half-demon was thinking along the same lines.  
  
Then, smoothly, Sesshoumaru lifted his foot from Inu-Yasha's chest, stepping back, the Tetsusaiga lowering to his side. Inu-Yasha, not about to question his good fortune while still in striking distance, skittered back several feet on his backside, eyeing his brother warily.  
  
Kurama was thunderstruck. What on earth is he thinking? At least a century's worth of hunting & resentment that Sesshoumaru could have finally ended in an instant, & he'd let Inu-Yasha up...?  
  
When the youkai spoke, it didn't clear things up much. "I think at last I begin to understand our father's reasoning, Inu-Yasha," he stated, as calmly as if he were observing the mildness of the weather.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Inu-Yasha growled, obviously not in the mood for any sort of dramatic vagueness.  
  
"Our father's reasoning in giving you the Tetsusaiga," Sesshoumaru patiently explained. He held up the magnificent blade, turning it so that the moonlight caught the edge & glistened off it; a moment later, through whatever magic the sword possessed & possibly at Sesshoumaru's bidding, it reverted to its more innocuous, dingy appearance. "Or at least why he gave it to you instead of me."  
  
"Why is that?" For all the angry suspicion in Inu-Yasha's voice, there was a definite thread of curiosity there.  
  
"Because you are the one who needs it," Sesshoumaru said patiently, like an adult explaining a simple concept to a child. "Our father must have realized it. A half-demon would need the power of a sword like the Tetsusaiga. I can kill a hundred demons with my bare claws; you cannot." And, to Kurama's & Inu-Yasha's further amazement, he tossed the coveted sword onto the grass near Inu-Yasha's feet. "I have no need for such a blade."  
  
No need for such a blade... After months of Kurama listening to him talk about taking it back & killing his halfbreed brother with it.  
  
Inu-Yasha snatched the Tetsusaiga from the ground & scrambled to his feet, staring at Sesshoumaru in confusion that could no longer be hidden.  
  
Sesshoumaru stared impassively back. "I have Toukijin," he said after a moment, pulling out the sword. "Not as legendary as the Tetsusaiga, but with equal potential. If Tetsusaiga is known as the sword that can slay a hundred demons with a single stroke, then I will make Toukijin known as the sword that can slay a thousand. I need no help from the Tetsusaiga for that- -whereas you, Inu-Yasha, need all the help you can get."  
  
Abruptly he leveled the sword, pointing it at a spot that, if one measured it with a ruler, Kurama suspected would be pointing right between Inu- Yasha's eyes. "Live up to the reputation of the sword, Inu-Yasha. If you disgrace it, I will kill you & take it from your corpse." If Kurama or Inu- Yasha had suspected that the youkai had been replaced by a very arrogant shapeshifter, this assured them that he was the real Sesshoumaru; his voice had all of its usual cold menace.  
  
Then Sesshoumaru sheathed the sword & turned away from his brother, walking towards the woods. He didn't look over his shoulder to see if Kurama was following him; he simply, & correctly, took it for granted.  
  
Glancing over his shoulder at Inu-Yasha, noting the halfbreed's astonishment melting into a smirk, Kurama wondered just who the youkai thought he was fooling.  
  
-Callisto 


End file.
